The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

So, it is finally over. The blood, sweat and tears have finally purchased what I have been striving to achieve since 2004. Though it has come after six years of jumping through hoops, brown nosing, writing papers until the wee hours of the morning, reading countless novels and articles about stuff I will never remember, and studying to the point of being half crazed, I have finally earned the piece of paper that proudly proclaims I am a college graduate. Yes, I have earned my Bachelor's Degree. Though I thought this day would never come, on the 8th of May I graduated from Montana State University. WOO HOO!!!

Holding my diploma and wearing red heels. Could that be any more awesome?!

Since my Seth could not be there for the commencement ceremony, Oliver had to stand in for his Daddy.

Sadly, these are the only pictures that turned out from graduation. It was SUPER windy and cold that day so in all the other pictures my hair is standing straight up in the air. Not cute. Anyways, now that it is finally over, I guess I can look back on these times and say, "now that I am done, I actually kind of miss it...". YEAH RIGHT. I cannot even begin to relate how stoked I am to be DONE with college!!! Now I can focus all my energies into being a mother and wife without that nagging feeling of needing to finish school. Seth and I can now finally hang up our matching diploma frames and feel all important... Just kidding! (about the important part, we actually do have matching frames and have just been waiting for me to earn my diploma before we hung them up;-)

Happy day! I am done with school, Seth will be home in a little over a month, we are going to be having another baby, and our little family will be able to be together for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas:-) Nothing but good times ahead!!!

For My Love...

Here are some new pictures of Oliver, Seth my love. I didn't comment on them because there are over twenty pictures, but I know you wanted to see some more photos of the cutest boy on Earth, so here you go. I love you and miss you!!!
-your wife

AUAB Gym

hello all. another post from the 'desert.' i went to the gym this morning to work out and figured id take some pictures while there. its a REALLY nice gym as you can see. here is the basketball court. the divider is down in the middle of the gym in this shot.

here is the cardio room. this is where most of the classes take place (no, i dont know the people in the picture :)

the cardio machines. bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, and stair-steppers out of the frame to the left

weight machines. TONS of them, all really nice and new

the weight room

and of course the pool

so yeah, as you can tell, im never at a loss for things to do at the gym. im pretty spoiled in fact! another perk of being in the air force, every base has a gym like this. so no matter where we are stationed, we will have a great gym to work out in and wont have to pay a membership fee to go!

A Great Day Off

so i had a fanTAStic trip downtown yesterday. it began with a stop at our favorite local food shops, Al-Ennabi and the Juice Stall next door. here are chris and i anticipating the amazing food and beverages that await us.

the oven they bake the bread in, that is my nan comming out right now.

the glorious meal. hummas and nan and a schwarma. the schwarma is flat bread filled with shaved meat (usually lamb), lettuce, some sort of amazing sauce, and a french fry or two (you know, potato). its all rolled up nice and tight and is a delicious flavor explosion from first bite to last.

after lunch we hit up the juice stall. here is a sample of their menu, juice from dozens of different fruits. fresh fruit is pured in the blender to order, some with ice, some with ice cream, and some just straight up fruit. my favorites so far have been watermelon and mango.

the luxurious intercontinental hotel in doha. this was the site of our day of relaxation. here is half the pool. if you swim under the bridge (by the gazebo on the right), there is another identical half on the other side of the gazebo. and that is a swim up bar on the left there...

this was our spot for the day, in the shade of the palm trees. it was a fantastic place to lie and read and enjoy the scenery! it was a nice comfortable 80 degrees or so and there was a refreshing breeze rustling through the fronds overhead. this was, without a doubt, one of the best places i have ever woken to at the conclusion of a nap.

this was my view down to the beach while lying in my lunge chair.

a parting shot of the bay. this doesnt do justice to just how magnificently deep teal the water was. it was beautiful!

this was one of the best days off ever! and to think i am getting hazardous duty pay for this! this was hands down the best day of my deployment thus far.

More Pics of Base

some more pictures i have taken around base.

a vast expanse of barren qatar desert

the sun setting over a group of parked c-17s and construction equipment. there is construction going on EVERYWHERE on base and its all run and managed by my fellow CE compadres and i

the qatari gate onto base

"the bra"

my office and al udeid CE headquarters reside in this fantastic looking building...

hanging out in my cube... this is where i spend 10-12 hours of my day. assuming i cant get out of the office (which i actually do quite often).

me and the CEP gang.

379 ECES, 500 strong here on base. i am in the third row, third from the right.